'Ethanol price questions', Channel 7 news Sydney, 14 May 2012

Documents obtained by Channel 7 show that Treasury warned the NSW government that the policy was protecting Manildra's highly profitable position as a monopoly supplier, increasing costs for motorists and offering few if any benefits. 

Greens NSW MP John Kaye said: "The O'Farrell government has no excuse for continuing with the mandate.  

"Their Treasury department has warned that the policy is creating a monopoly and unnecessarily punishing motorists for little or no benefit. 

"It's hardly surprising that the cabinet is in meltdown over the E10 policy, with key Liberals at war with Nationals.  

"That Treasury's warnings were ignored is a testament to the power of Manildra and the more than $670,000 donations the Nowra-based company has made to the NSW Nationals and Liberals since 1999.  

"The O'Farrell government should stop sacrificing motorists' hard-earned cash and its own economic credentials to appease a major donor. 

"The Coalition government seems to be able to effectively slash and burn public sector pay and conditions. When it comes to the hundreds of millions of dollars that Manildra is able to take from motorists' wallets, Premier Barry O'Farrell goes to water. 

"This mess is Labor's invention and they too no doubt ignored economic advice to go ahead and to fatten up Manildra's profits. 

"The Treasury documents should leave each member of the cabinet with no doubt. The E10 mandate is a failure that should be revisited before yet more damage is done to the state's economy," Dr Kaye said. 

For more information:       John Kaye 0407 195 455

'Warnings on NAPLAN misuse', Sydney Morning Herald, 12 May 2012  

'WA students to sit NAPLAN test amid growing anger', Sydney Morning Herald, 15 May 2012 

'Teach or test?', Sydney Morning Herald, 15 May 2012 

Dr Kaye said:  "As 300,000 students are sitting the NAPLAN test in NSW, Education Minister Adrian Piccoli is doing nothing to stop these tests destroying the quality of education they receive. 

"In opposition Mr Piccoli talked the talk on the dangers of high stakes testing.  

"Now he is in government he seems to have lost his voice.

"ACARA chairman Barry McGaw is in complete denial about the impacts of the tests. He is ignorant of the massive amount of classroom time that is being wasted on preparing students for NAPLAN at the expense of important areas of the curriculum.   

"As the opposition spokesperson on Education, Adrian Piccoli was well versed in the dangers of NAPLAN. Mr Piccoli was very fond of saying that NAPLAN tests were designed for the benefit of students and as a diagnostic tool for students only. 

"The O'Farrell government has failed to take action against the misuse of NAPLAN data. It stood by while school league tables were published, forcing teachers to teach to the test.

"Parents are starting to vote with their feet. High-stakes testing is eroding the curriculum and the results are being misused to assess schools and teachers.

"In his 2009 speech in support of the Greens amendment that bans the publication of school league tables, Mr Piccoli told the parliament that the Coalition was listening to the concerns raised by academics and educators.

"Mr Piccoli pointed to US and UK research that showed the Gillard government's high stakes testing agenda would end in calamity.

"As recently as March this year the Minister told the media that he has 'always opposed simplistic league tables and the misuse of NAPLAN data'.

"The O'Farrell government must live up to its own words in opposition and take action to protect students and schools from the misuse of NAPLAN results," Dr Kaye said.

For more information:       John Kaye 0407 195 455

Adrian Piccoli in 2009:

Speech to NSW Legislative Assembly 8 September 2009 on the Education Further Amendment (Publication of School Results) Bill 2009:

"Some students in some schools do not perform as well as others because of reasons outside the control of the students, the teachers and the principals. League tables rank schools based on the results of the tests, and what we will get are schools called successes and schools called failures".

"....league tables are meaningless. In fact, they hide information."

"Breaking the law: the exam results they don't want you to see", Sydney Morning Herald, 12 November 2009:

"We think ranking schools simply on one result is unfair and provides no useful information to parents, does the school no justice, nor the students any justice".

'What young don't need: another bottle shop', Sydney Morning Herald, 14 May 2012 

'Police chief pushes for bottle shop clampdown', Sydney Morning Herald, 14 May 2012

'Police backed in singling out bottle shops', Sydney Morning Herald, 15 May 2012

Dr Kaye said: "Last night's Council vote was a great victory for the local residents and for common sense. 

"It was also a win for every community around NSW battling yet another bottle shop and the appalling toll of domestic violence. 

"Council's refusal to accept the development application without further information sends another clear message to the O'Farrell government that residents are sick of Woolworths and Coles fighting for market share at their expense. 

"The evidence is unequivocal. Increasing densities of bottle shops drive up the rates of domestic violence and hospitalisations. 

"Last week the NSW Upper House unanimously supported a Greens motion raising concerns about the Mount Hutton BWS proposal and the impacts of excessive densities of bottle shops.  

"There is an obvious appetite for legislation to limit the density of packaged liquor outlets. Communities like Mount Hutton should not have to spend their time defending themselves. 

"Even if Lake Macquarie approves the proposal when it comes back before Council in two weeks, we will oppose it before the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority when Woolworths applies for a licence. 

"Mount Hutton is a line in the sand. 

"The community, the state and federal MPs and the NSW Upper House are fed up with the damage being inflicted on  communities.

"The next target is the O'Farrell government. Turning the tide on the aggressive tactics of  the giant liquor retailers Coles and Woolworths will take legislation to impose a limit on densities," Dr Kaye said. 

For more information:  John Kaye 0407 195 455

'Desal deal to pour $2.3 bn into NSW coffers', ABC Online, 11 May

Dr Kaye said: "The $300 million investment in infrastructure will be paid for many times over by Sydney, Illawarra and Blue Mountains households.

"Water bills will be inflated for the next fifty years to service the profits of the private investors and refund the capital.

"While the $2.3 billion price tag is a bit higher than expected, it comes with the terrible cost. Sydney households are now locked into paying for an expensive and unnecessary source of water for the next fifty years.

"This is one more chapter in the sorry saga of desalination incompetence. Labor committed to building the Kurnell plant when the dams were almost half full. Now the Coalition is committing households to pay for expensive and unnecessary water for the next half century to fund their infrastructure program. 

"The O'Farrell government will be boasting about the $2.3 billion sale price but only $300 million goes into the infrastructure fund. There are better ways to pay for railways, hospitals and schools.

"Privatisation inevitably results in job cuts as the new owners look to maximise their profits at the expense of the workforce.

"The new lessees will be putting pressure on the operators Veolia to reduce its costs," Dr Kaye said. 

For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455

'Teachers union attacks education reforms', ABC TV news, 9 May 2012

Dr Kaye said: "Having one maths or science teacher for a whole year will become a luxury for many students under the O'Farrell government's scheme to deregulate school staffing. 

"Thousands of older teachers are retiring each year as school budget are being squeezed. 

"So-called 'Local Schools, Local Decision' will inevitably force principals to increase the number of casual teachers. 

"As responsibility for staffing decisions is shunted to school leaders, Education Minister Adrian Piccoli will be able to wash his hands of responsibility when parents complain that their children had three or four science teachers in a year. 

"Last night's Federal Budget ignored the urgent need for more funding for public education identified by the Gonski review.

"As the pressure come on, both state and federal governments are deserting public schools and the challenges presented by increasing numbers of new teachers. 

"Early year teachers bring enthusiasm and fresh ideas but it is essential that the staffing mix is designed to provide experienced mentors. 

"Engaging school leaders in decision making is a sensible idea but the O'Farrell government's scheme is a blame shifting exercise that will punish disadvantaged communities," Dr Kaye said.  

For more information:       John Kaye 0407 195 455

The motion moved by Greens NSW MP John Kaye (See Appendix A) expressed concern that Woolworths' BWS proposal would be likely to cause harm to the Mt Hutton community. 

Dr Kaye said:  "Woolworths is running out of friends on this issue.  

"Liberals, Nationals, Labor and crossbench MPs joined with the Greens in raising the alarm on the impacts the proposal would have on violence in the community and on the school children at Mt Hutton Public. 

"It's time for the giant retailer to listen to the concerns raised by the community and the Legislative Council members and to abandon the proposal immediately. 

"State politicians from all parties have joined the community to condemn the proposal for yet another packaged liquor outlet in the Mt Hutton area. 

"The Upper House expressed its concern about the location of the proposed BWS including its close proximity to a primary school and a local park that already experiences problems with graffiti and alcohol-related violence. 

"MPs recognised that the Mt Hutton community is already suffering from the high density of liquor outlets in the area. 

"Woolworths' flawed Social Impact Assessment has now been condemned, including for its failure to consult with key stakeholders other than the police. 

"The NSW Upper House has sent a strong message to Lake Macquarie Council to reject the application.  

"The Coalition Upper House members have also sent a strong message to the O'Farrell government that they are fed up with the explosion of liquor outlets across NSW and the harm it is causing to communities like Mt Hutton," said Dr Kaye. 

For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455

Appendix A 

Dr Kaye moved— 

1. That this House notes that:

(a)       Woolworths has lodged an application for a BWS packaged liquor outlet in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Mount Hutton,

(b)       the proposed outlet is within 100 metres of Mt Hutton Public School,

(c)       there are already approximately 30 packaged liquor outlets within the Lake Macquarie local government area,

(d)       there are 14 packaged liquor outlets within five kilometres of the planned Woolworths site, five of which are owned by Woolworths and one, Woolworths Liquor at Lake Macquarie Fair, is 850 metres from the school,

(e)       Lake Macquarie Council received more than 50 submissions opposing the BWS application for reasons which included:

(i)        impacts on violent crime and graffiti in the local area,

(ii)       impacts on the safety of the school,

(iii)      adverse messages to children walking to school in the vicinity of the outlet,

(f)        Woolworths' Social Impact Assessment for the Mt Hutton BWS proposal has been severely criticised by Key Insights Pty Ltd for:

(i)        failing to consult with key stakeholders other than the police,

(ii)       failing to adequately identify or analyse the geographic area of influence and failing to include data relating to the "at risk" community of Gateshead and Windale,

(iii)      including inaccurate and misleading data,

(iv)      failing to meet the standard criteria for social impact assessments,

(v)       falsely concluding from the data that the proposal would be "not likely to result in any harm",

(g)       a considerable body of international research, some of which is quoted by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, indicates that:

(i)        the existing high density of packaged liquor outlets is a contributory factor to the high rate of alcohol-related violence in the Mt Hutton, Windale and Gateshead areas,

(ii)       an additional outlet would add to the rate of alcohol-related violence,

(h)       figures published by the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing show the number of bottle shop licenses in New South Wales has grown more than 20 percent in the past five years, and

(i)         the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR) has commissioned a research project to identify the impacts that may result from the clustering of licensed premises and liquor outlets.

2. That this House:

(a)     expresses concern that the Mt Hutton BWS proposal is not in the best interests of the community and is likely to cause harm, and

(b)     welcomes the OLGR study into the cumulative impacts of liquor outlets and calls on the O'Farrell Government to pay careful attention to the results and to act to protect communities such as Mt Hutton from excessive concentrations of packaged liquor outlets.  

      (Notice given 3 May 2012—expires Notice Paper No. 99)

"The meeting launched action kits designed to help community members outraged by the exploitation of the free-range egg label to lobby their local member to support the Greens Truth in Labelling Bill 2011. 

"The Green bill would ensure that the stocking density for free-range farms is no more than 1,500 birds per hectare. This would fulfil the expectations of consumers and protect genuine free-range farmers and their animals.

"The Egg Corporation is pushing ahead with their plans to officially increase the free-range stocking density from 1,500 to 20,000 birds per hectare. The only way to ensure 'free-range' means free-range is through legislation.

"The great turnout at the public meeting should send a clear message to NSW Liberal and National MPs that their constituents are sick of the large industrial producers exploiting consumers trying to do the right thing by falsely labelling their eggs as 'free-range,' Dr Kaye said.

If you would like to receive an action kit, complete with information sheets, lobbying tips and campaign materials, please contact Lauren at lauren.waldon@parliament.nsw.gov.au or on Ph: (02) 9230 2668 

For more information: 02 9230 2668    

Sign the History Council of NSW petition here.

Opinion piece by Richard Waterhouse, NSW History Council, 'Without easy access to records we're history', SMH, 8 May 

Dr Kaye said: "Terabytes of government information are sitting about on hundreds of different servers and thousands of laptops. These are a critical component of the record of public administration yet their future is being gambled on the archiving skills of each individual agency.

"State Records is being denied the resources it needs to fulfil its legal, cultural and historical obligations to the citizens of NSW. This will be the first generation in fifty years to leave an incomplete view of the processes that led to critical decisions.

"Barry O'Farrell was swept to power on a promise to be more transparent and accountable. One year after being elected, the Coalition takes an axe to State Records and undermines the maintenance of critical government information.

"Without well maintained records, the rights of freedom of information and access to government information will become meaningless.

"Budget cuts to State Records go straight to the heart of government accountability.  

"Despite their increasing significance to government decision making, emails and digital documents are at risk of being lost forever. The O'Farrell government is not prepared to commit a relatively small amount of money to ensure a complete record is established and maintained.

"Historians, researchers and individuals questioning government decisions are being left in the digital dark because of the Coalition's obsession with squeezing every agency's budget," said Dr Kaye.

For more information:  John Kaye 0407 195 455